10 days 10 fanfics 10 emotions 1 character
by KottaKitty
Summary: 10 different stories written about Kazuichi Souda involving emotions and his interactions with those around him! Now complete!
1. Joy

Day 1: Joy.

Rating: K+

Word Count: 1,071

Summary: The day Souda got his first (and most prized) screwdriver. Its a much happier take on Souda's father than what I've seen around! He couldn't have always been an asshole right?

Tiny feet padded quickly across a cold wooden floor to a door that hung ajar.

The feet belonged to a young Kazuichi Souda and the slightly opened door lead to a place full of wonder (well, that's what Souda thought of it at least).

Beyond that door was his father's work shop.

A place full of dangerous mechanic equipment and sharp (in some cases rusty) parts. A place that was definitely not for children!

But Souda loved it.

He gripped the door tightly in his chubby little hands and peered around it with a curious look on his face. He'd lost count of how many times he'd been told not to go into his father work shop (mainly because he didn't know how to count), but still he went into it- he was constantly drawn to it.

Inside, he could see his father hunched over the work bench with a welding iron, fixing a bicycle part of some form.

Admiration filled little Souda's eyes as he pushed the door forward more, to get a clearer look at his father's work. But he still couldn't see well enough! The young boy glanced around for any sight of his mother before slowly taking a step inside the work shop, and moving quietly towards his father, being careful not to get caught in the act.

He was looking closely at the floor, trying not to step on or kick anything that would make a noise.

But because of this he didn't notice the bicycle right in front of him...

He walked straight in to it.

Before he could even think about running away to avoid the blame for this, the bike had toppled over and pushed over a bucket full of screws and lose parts- sending a loud metallic crash throughout the whole work shop.

The little boy froze as he looked at the parts. Then he darted his head up to look at his father; who had stopped welding and was now staring in disbelieve at his son and the mess said son had caused.

"_Jeeze kid_... how do you manage to always cause such a damn mess of things?" his father sighed standing up from the bench and stretching.

Souda's eyes welled with tears, he really hated disappointing his father; and he would probably get all of his sweeties taken away because of this.

"Dad I'm sorry I didn't mean to-" the young boy started, rubbing his eyes.

"I know I know," his dad said "Help me pick all this up, kay?" he handed his son a spare pair of mechanic gloves- which were quite obviously too big.

Souda put them on and clapped his hands together a few times, watching the little particles of dust fly out.

His dad chuckled at Souda, the kid was a nuisance sometimes, but he was cute. "Here, just hold the bucket steady for me."

Little Souda complied and did his job as bucket holder very well, as his father chucked the parts sprawled across the floor back into the bucket.

Everything was put back to normal very quickly.

Souda's dad was about to send Souda back to his room, and then go back to his work. But when he looked back to his child, who was now staring solemnly at the floor, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Kazuichi- come here a sec."

The toddler perked up and walked over, uncertain about what was going to happen.

His dad knelt down to his son's level and pulled a screwdriver out of a pocket in his overalls. "I'm gonna teach you how to use this. Don't tell your mother okay?"

Little Souda blinked twice and the nodded quickly "Nuh-uh! I won't tell her!"

"Good, alright so-" Souda's dad reached behind him and picked up an old alarm clock that had stopped working years ago "You take the screwdriver and unscrew the screws, make sense?" he handed his son the clock and screwdriver.

Souda stared puzzled at them for a while, "_unscrew the screws? What does that mean?"_ he thought to himself. "Dad, I don't understand-" he started before his father cut him off by ruffling his hair.

"Of course you don't!" he laughed and took his sons had with the screw driver in "look closely-" he put the screwdriver in the screw and twisted it until the screw came out "Now, you give it a shot!" he smiled

"Done!" Souda grinned before his dad even had a chance to watch.

"No way-" the older man said, pretty amazed that his son had managed to unscrew the back of the clock so quickly "Did you cheat Kazuichi? How did you do this so quickly?" the older man raised an eyebrow in shock and he closely examined the back of the clock.

"Nuh-uh! I wouldn't cheat!" the young Souda pouted "But I did learn from the best!" he smiled up at his dad.

"But I only just taught ya- how did you..." Souda's father soon thought it was best not to question his son's new talent, and just roll with it. "I guess you're a fast learner then." he smiled as he wrapped his arms around the boy, bringing him in for a tight hug.

Souda giggled against him "Oh, and dad-" he started quickly "I'm sorry I messed up your workshop... again."

Souda's father laughed "Look, don't worry about it, but just try not to do it again. In fact, try not to come in here again kid, it's really not safe for you right now."

"I know..." little Souda sighed "But I just want to see you work dad!"

His father thought for a moment "How about you take this old clock and my screwdriver a watch yourself work? I'm sure your room is a much safer place to work."

"You mean I can keep these!?" Souda questioned enthusiastically looking at the clock and screwdriver he clutched in his hands.

"Yeah! But don't tell your mum, she doesn't want you to be a mechanic just yet." he grinned.

"I won't tell I promise!" Souda chuckled and hopped out of his dads arms then ran to the door "Thanks dad! I love you!" he said as he left excitedly.

"You too kid!" his dad called after him as she stood up and got back to work.


	2. Frustration

_Day 2: Frustration!_

_Summary: Souda is short of cash, when suddenly, he gets a big project which will pay big money- but he just can't seem to get it right. Some mechanic he is._

_I felt really evil writing this..._

_Also I would have put the money in Yen but my keyboard doesn't have a button for that, and I don't understand the conversion rate ^^; so I put the money in Dollars, I hope that's okay!_

_Rating: T+_

_Word Count: 1,545_

"Godammit!" Souda cried as, once again, the whole of his latest project had fallen to pieces.

He flopped down to the floor and hugged his knees to his chest, as he grumbled angrily at the blue prints which he had pinned to the wall.

Everything was going wrong for the mechanic these days.

He needed to get away from his home (mainly his dad) so he'd been trying to earn money by being a freelance mechanic in his spare time, when he wasn't forced to work in his dads shop.

But practically no one would hire him- apparently they 'didn't trust his appearance'. What was wrong with the way he looked? It's way better than his old boring look!

The pink haired mechanic was constantly bullied at school- but that didn't matter they were just dumb kids; he could take that no matter how hard it got. At least that's what he liked to think...

Besides he should be able to catch a break at home; home is where you're safe from getting the shit beat out of you, right? Wrong. At least not in Souda's case, with his asshole of a father at home.

Everything had been fine at the Souda household, wonderful in fact! Until some biker gang smashed up the front of the shop (they were called The Crazy... something, Souda couldn't remember). This incident left his family in a serious amount of debt with the cost of getting the shop fixed. Said debt also lead to the divorce of Souda's parents, and to Souda's father turning to alcohol.

The pink haired boy was only 4 at the time, when everything had started going rotten.

He sighed roughly, and leaned forward a bit, stretching his legs out in front of him. In all honesty he felt like crying right now- and ripping the blueprints he'd painstakingly created to shreds.

But he didn't.

He couldn't.

That would just waste more time he really didn't have to spare.

In a way, this project was a godsend. The lady who wanted it was going to pay him big money for it- enough for Souda to get his own flat! Away from at least half of his misery.

But it was just so frustrating! How was he supposed to make a baseball firing machine that shot 1,000 baseballs out at x100 miles per hour!? Actually a better question was why did he have to make this?

Alas it was not his job to ask questions, he just had to build the damnned thing and get paid.

Although it was seeming more and more like an impossible task with every passing second.

The bell at the front of the shop rang and pulled Souda out of his despairing thoughts, he couldn't afford to miss any kind of customer (plus an easy job might help him relax a bit).

He got to the front desk and quickly recognized the mop of gelled back red hair that was waiting for him.

"Leon! Thank god you're here man... I'm going crazy back there!"

"Oh? What's up? If your old man is giving you hell again I swear I'm gonna-!" Leon began angrily.

"No, no." Souda stopped him with a wave of his hand "Besides I'm used to all that." he sighed nonchalantly "It's this crazy huge project I've got going on out back, It's gonna pay well but I'm on the brink of scrapping it all turning down the job y'know?"

Leon lent on the desk in front of him and rested his head on his right hand "Man, am I glad all I've gotta do is play baseball..." he mumbled sympathetically "Look, take a break from it for a while maybe and tinker with something easy?" the red head suggested "I've got a little job for you actually, it shouldn't be too hard dude." he spoke with a reassuring smile.

"Seriously? That's just what I wanted, thanks!" Souda grinned "What is it?"

"Oh, it's one of those automatic pitchers that us baseball players use for practice! There's a spring loose or something... shouldn't be too hard for a mechanic like you!" Leon looked up at his pink haired friend, who looked like he was about to kill him "What?"

Souda brought his hands up to his head as he tried to rub away his growing headache "Not another pitcher..." he wailed, voice full of annoyance.

"What's wrong with pitchers?" Leon asked, sitting up.

"A pitcher is what I'm trying ta build out back! I can't do it!" he shouted the last part out of pure frustration.

"Whoa dude calm down! I can come back when you've finished the other one if you like?"

Souda thought for a while before saying "Nah, I'll do it now... I need the money." He concluded "besides, it could help me with the one I'm trying to make anyway."

"Whatever you say dude, maybe I could take a look at your blueprints too? I must have learnt something from playing the damn sport all my life!" Leon offered jokingly.

"Yeah that'd be cool; I need someone back there to stop me from destroying the whole work station anyway!" Souda laughed heartily as he opened the door to the work station and lead Leon in behind him.

With Leon there, all of Souda's frustrations left as quickly as they came. Their mindless chatter kept him calm, and it turns out Leon did know what he was doing wrong! Together, they got both pitchers up and running in full working order (although quite obviously Souda did all the work, Leon was good with a baseball bat, not a wrench).

"Man, would you look at those!" Leon grinned, admiring their work.

"They're done! Good riddance!" the pink haired boy roared happily as he boxed up the one he was being paid to make.

Leon folded up the pitcher his school needed fixed and held it under his arm "So, how much?"

"Huh?" Souda asked, confused.

"How much am I paying you for this?" Leon smiled "I'm not letting you do it for free."

"Oh right!" Souda said as he stood up off the floor and brushed himself off "I dunno, like... 20 bucks?"

The red head slapped money down on one of the work benches next to him "Done and done!" he grinned "look I had better go now anyway- can't keep my coach waiting, the guy is crazy I swear!"

Souda laughed "Alright dude! Hope the pitcher works well for you!"

"Yeah thanks bro!" Leon said as he left, but then stopped in the doorway momentarily "-and you make sure that chick pays you double for all the work you've put in to this!" then he was gone.

When Souda had gone to collect the money his friend had left, he was very surprised to find that Leon had left almost twice the amount he had asked for! There was a little note with it that said:

"Just take the extra man, I know you need it.  
- Leon"

Souda smiled lightly to himself, he really was grateful for the few friends he had, he wasn't sure how he'd survive without them.

He just about finished boxing up the violent pitcher he'd been requested to make, when the front door rang again.

"Hello~" a girly voice rang throughout the shop, and Souda recognized it instantly. He picked up the boxed pitcher and brought it through to the front desk.

"Junko Enoshima, I have your pitcher." He put it down and patted the top, "It was hell to make I tell ya..."

"Upupupu~ how very despair inducing" she grinned wildly to herself "Mukuro. Pay him." She said in a much colder voice.

Suddenly another girl walked out from beside Junko, she was so quiet Souda didn't even notice her. She placed a cheque for $1,000 on the front counter then returned to her spot beside Junko.

"Well then, good bye Souda-kun~!" she practically sung as she left "I'll be back before you know it!"And then she did that strange laugh again as she exited.

Mukuro had taken the pitcher away without Souda even noticing, and the pink haired mechanic was now aloe again in the shop.

He took the cheque off the counter and kissed it happily then shoved it in one of his overalls pockets with a huge smile plastered across his face.

Souda finally had enough money to move out.

He was pretty much free and it felt good- no, amazing!

He had decided to celebrate, the only way he knew how, a litre bottle of Cola and a massive bag of chips all to himself! So he had taken some of the money Leon had left, locked up the shop and gone down the street to pick himself up a little treat.

But one thought kept plaguing his mind as he walked, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd done something awful as he thought about it...

"Just what was that pitcher going to be used for?"

-Fin-


	3. Nervous

_Day 3: Nervous!_

_Summary: The time has come for Souda to confess. He loves her; there was no doubt about it._

_Rating: T+_

_Word Count: 1,407_

_Thank you for all the reviews i have received so far!_

"Just do it. You can do this." Souda repeated to himself over and over as he paced outside the door to Sonia's room.

He was going to do it.

Be brave and confess his true feelings.

Sure Sonia knew he loved her, but it never seemed that serious. He was going to pour his heart out right here and now then accept whatever kind of rejection he received, no matter how brutal it was.

Of course she was going to reject him; Sonia had a thing for Gundam not Souda. She liked cute animals, not mechanics.

But that didn't matter right now, he needed to be sincere for once in his life and get this out in the open.

He loved Sonia.

Didn't he? This was love wasn't it? In all honesty Souda wasn't sure if he loved her or if this was just a feeling he had made up in his head. But he would never tell anyone that.

Taking in a sharp breath Souda turned to face Sonia's door with a stern and determined look engraved on his face.

He knocked on the door lightly at first, his hand was shaking- he hadn't been this scared since high school when he was on the run from a group of bullies who were out to do some pretty horrible things to him.

He shouldn't be this afraid. It was only Sonia-san, the lovely princess Sonia.

Building up all the courage he could muster, he knocked loudly on the door this time, and then heard dainty footsteps coming towards said door.

"Shitshitshitshitshit." was all Souda's mind could muster as his heart beat raced and butterflies flooded his stomach in waves.

He couldn't do this.

The door began to open slowly.

He had to do this.

Once the door was fully opened Souda's eyes were graced with the vision of beauty that was Sonia.

A lump went straight to his throat and he couldn't muster any kind of human sentence.

"Souda? What brings you here?" she asked in her usual sweet as sugar voice.

"I- what- no- I-" he stuttered, becoming more and more flustered and embarrassed with each passing second.

"Souda are you feeling okay? Your face is red." Sonia looked confused at her friend's odd state.

The pink haired boy swallowed and balled his hands in to fists "Dammit!" he exclaimed becoming angry with himself. He paused for breath quickly and calmed down "C-can I talk to you Sonia-san... please don't laugh at me, I just need to get this off my chest..." he sighed. He was so stupid for doing this, but it had to happen.

"Yes of course Souda, come in." she stood back and offered him entrance to her room.

Souda took shaky steps in, and sat on the very edge of her bed; head in his hands, regret in the pit of his stomach.

Sonia sat next to him, but kept a friendly amount of distance.

This was it, his big reveal of feelings. Souda felt like he was going to be sick, and he wouldn't be surprised if he did throw up all over Sonia's pristine floor.

"L-Look..." the pink haired boy sat up and shut his eyes "I really like ya Sonia..."

"I like you too!" she smiled at him.

"No, I mean I _like like_ you... Sonia I thinkiminlovewithyou." He said the last bit so fast Sonia could barley understand him.

"Pardon? I didn't catch that last part" she laughed awkwardly.

"Look, it's no biggie." Souda tapped his foot nervously on the floor "But I think I'm in love with you okay? Like really in love, Y'know? You're just so beautiful and gorgeous and pretty and-"

"So you love the way I look?" she said bluntly, she had Souda sussed. "You don't love me Souda" she smiled reassuringly.

"What do you mean?" Souda asked; all of the nervousness inside him became confusion in an instant.

"I mean that you only love my for my looks Souda, to truly be in love with a person you must love every ounce of their personality first, before you see their face" she was trying to explain this to him in the nicest way she could.

Souda's eyes widened when he realised she was right.

The pink haired boy wasn't sure whether his whole world had just came crashing down or whether a whole new world had just been presented to him.

He didn't really know what he felt anymore, the realisation had been quite a blow to him.

"Souda?" Sonia put her had on his shoulder for comfort "Do you see why we wouldn't work? I didn't want to be mean, if it came out that way."

"Nah... You're right... man how could I have been so stupid!" he slammed his fist down on his knee, god he was embarrassed.

"Don't beat yourself up about it! I won't tell anyone about this if that helps?"

Souda nodded and stood up "Thanks Sonia-san, you're a real princess y'know that?" he smiled weakly.

"A super high school level one!" she giggled kindly with a small wink.

Souda chuckled lightly and went to make his leave, when Sonia stopped him by taking a hold of his arm.

"What's up now Sonia-san?" the mechanic was surprised to get stopped, he had figured Sonia wouldn't want to see him again for a while after he had just made a fool of himself like that.

"I just want you to know, Souda; you will find the one you love someday. They are out there, in the same position as you! But you two will find each other soon enough I promise!"

Souda had heard all these kinds of bullshit speeches about there being 'plenty of fish in the sea' before and normally he'd just brushed them off and lies fed to him by society. But when Sonia gave the speech, the words seemed so filled with hope (not the Komaeda kind of hope) and a kind of sincerity only a princess could lace her words with, that Souda believed her.

He was struck for words, but managed to gulp and say quietly "Thank you Sonia." Before nodding his head to her in a tiny bow of sorts and exiting the princesses' room without another word.

He made it about half way down the corridor before he stopped and leaned against the wall, looking absolutely miserable.

Sonia was right, and he knew she would reject him all along. But the way she had rejected him had been so kind, and it made so much sense! It didn't sit right with him at all.

He felt confused as hell, and he wasn't really sure what to do anymore.

The sound of footsteps approaching echoed down the corridor; it was probably that damn hall monitor who always has a pole up his ass, he was going to give Souda a detention for loitering in the halls or something. But the mechanic just didn't care anymore; he needed to re-think some things for a while.

Someone tapped him on the head- Souda sighed, sounding exhausted, and looked up "What?"

It was Hagakure, that guys who was _way_ too old to go to their school. He was a pretty alright dude though. Souda had to admit some of his best memories had come to be when he was hanging out with Leon and Hagakure, they were a trio of bros!

"You alright there dude?" The hippy with crazy hair asked.

"Not really... I just got some pretty heavy news y'know?"

"Thought so" Hagakure nodded with his hand on his chin "You were giving off some pretty negative vibes. Want to talk about it?"

Souda thought about it momentarily "Not right now dude." He shook his head sadly.

"Right... You want to get a burger together instead? There's a place that apparently does 100% beef burgers around here! I need to get me some of that!" he grinned, trying to cheer Souda up.

The mechanic smiled warmly up at the fortune teller who towered over him "Yeah, why not!"

The burgers had really cheered Souda up and he didn't even care about what Sonia had said to him anymore.

He knew that the right one for him was out there, and he was going to find them!


	4. Empathy

_Day 4: Empathy_

_Summary: It turns out Souda and Ishimaru do have something in common._

_Rating: T+_

_Word Count: 1,588_

_Warnings: Talk of child abuse. If this upsets you please don't read!_

_Thank you for all the reviews I have received so far! They make me smile! Please keep them coming!_

Kazuichi Souda got a detention almost every single day, and he wasn't always sure why.

Mostly it was due to him falling asleep in class or something else mundane like that, but sometimes he didn't even have a detention and he would show up for it- it was just a natural thing for him to go there once the days lessons had finished now.

It was always the same three people in detention after school every day: Mondo Oowada, Leon Kuwata and Souda (with the occasional addition of Hagakure, Hanamura, Junko or Celestia) and it was always the same person who watched over the detentions, Kiyotaka Ishimaru.

Detention was very repetitive and also an extremely boring occurrence, but it happened every Monday-Friday without fail.

Although recently, the hall monitor and the classe's gang leader had become very close, almost too close some would say. This new found bond the pair shared meant that Mondo was getting fewer detentions with every passing day, and eventually he didn't even get detentions anymore.

Leaving just Leon and Souda with a consistent record of bad behaviour.

One day, after classes had finished, Souda found himself on his way to the detention room like always; when Leon had literally ran in to him.

"Dude! What the hell? I'd be happy to see me too but ya don't have to run at me!" Souda joked with a small grin at his friend.

"Look man, this ain't the time for jokes okay?" Leon said in a panic before rushing off down the corridor "I gotta go!"

"But what about detention!?" Souda called after his friend.

"I don't know! Shit-!" Leon stopped running and scratched his head in thought "Uhhh, tell the hall monitor coach Nidai needed me for something urgently!"

"Alright! But can't you tell me what's actually going on?" Souda was quite concerned about whatever was troubling the red head. He didn't really catch Leon's true explanation, something about a 'chick with blue hair' and a knife? Souda brushed if off as something Leon could handle on his own- besides he hadn't seemed like he wanted Souda's help anyway.

The pink haired mechanic continued on his way to the detention room upstairs.

Upon arrival he noticed it was only going to be him and Ishimaru there this time.

"_Great._" Souda sighed and rolled his eyes as he sat down.

"Ah, Kazuichi- it is good to see you made it! Serving your time as a rule breaker is a very noble thing to do!" Ishimaru had said in his usual booming and cheery voice.

"Yeah yeah, whatever let's just get this over with" he leant forward on the desk to make it look like he was bored, but in reality he had nothing better to do than come here- and school was a damn slight better than home for Souda.

See, Souda's home life really wasn't as good as the average students. It was just him and his drunken abusive asshole of a father, trying desperately to keep the family business afloat when it was clearly sinking, who would want to go home to that?

There is nothing to do in detention apart from look around the class room from the seat where you are sat in complete silence. Souda had read every poster in the room so many times that he could probably recite them all off the top of his head.

Whilst gazing mindlessly at one of the posters near Ishimaru, Souda noticed something off about the hall monitor that he hadn't seen when he'd come in.

"Hey, hall monitor, where'd you get that cut on your lip?" Souda asked out loud to Ishimaru, he thought he could maybe engage in convocation to pass the time- Mondo had become friends with the black haired student, so he figured he could probably do the same.

Ishimaru perked up and seemed taken off guard by the sudden question for a moment, but he quickly re-gained his composure. "It was a foolish mistake I made whist preparing dinner last night." he replied coolly.

Any normal person would have taken that excuse, but Souda wasn't normal. Not in this sense anyway, he knew that Ishimaru was lying.

"What did you do? Fall on the knife?" the pink haired boy said sarcastically whilst sitting up, he rested his chin on the palm of his hand.

"You could put it that way, yes." Ishimaru coughed and shifted in his seat, clearly becoming uncomfortable with Souda's questions "Anyway, this is detention. Be quiet." he ordered abruptly.

Souda clicked his tongue and looked closely at Ishimaru.

He had a bad feeling about that cut.

It couldn't have been the bullies at school anymore; they didn't dare touch Ishimaru now he was best friends with Mondo AKA: the most feared man in the school. Plus, no one just falls on a knife whilst cooking! That was an obvious lie.

Completely ignoring the hall monitors last orders Souda spoke again in a very serious voice "I know what you're going through." He was confident his assumption was correct.

Ishimaru looked up again "I do not understand what you mean." The hall monitor spoke bluntly.

"Look... That cut, I'm gunna guess I know how you _really_ got it," he said in a much softer voice than usual "-and I just want you to know you're not alone, okay?"

Ishimaru seemed quite surprised "It- It is not as bad as you may think." he swallowed "It is only because my parents wish for me to succeed." the booming voice that usually accompanied Ishimaru's words was gone, and replaced by a much more timid tone.

Souda got up from his seat and Ishimaru didn't stop him, the mechanic pulled up a chair next to where Ishimaru sat "Well they shouldn't-" he began.

"They shouldn't wish for me to succeed?" Ishimaru sounded horrified by the words.

"No! They should, but they are going about it all wrong, man." Souda frowned and leant his chin on his hand again.

There was an awkward pause for what seemed like the longest time, neither of them could think of what to say.

Eventually the hall monitor spoke up "How do you suppose they motivate me to succeed in life then...?" he asked hesitantly.

"By not hitting you, and being good parents- y'know, like complementing you on your good grades and stuff! You always get at least 70% on every test you do, you're a damn genius!" the pink haired boy exclaimed.

"I am no genius though! I work hard for what I achieve; it does not come naturally to me! I need the extra push too prevail in my life's missions." Ishimaru shot back quickly- clearly calling him a genius had struck a bad nerve.

"You are already a hard worker; you don't need the 'push'! Any parent should be proud to have, like, made you!" Souda said, feeling quite passionate about his words, He knew what it was like- he didn't really care about himself, but he didn't believe other people deserved to go through this shit, especially not a good guy like Ishimaru.

"That is your opinion alone." Ishimaru sighed.

"I bet Mondo thinks the same as I do." Souda reassured the black haired boy.

A small smile crept on to Ishimaru's features and his eyes softened slightly "I guess you are correct..."

"See? Look, you're a great guy and you really don't deserve this."

"You should not swear." the hall monitor scolded as if by habit "You are also a fine upstanding citizen Souda. You say you know exactly how I feel though- does that also mean that..." his words drifted off, but Souda knew exactly what he was implying.

"Yeah, just my old man though. It doesn't matter anyway." Souda smiled and stood up "Oh look at that- detentions over I had better go home now." the mechanic had tried to take his leave then but Ishimaru stopped him.

"You should not try and avoid the subject once it moves on to you." the hall monitor stated "Although it is your right to leave now, I feel like we have shared something important here today and that we should perhaps discuss it further."

Souda knew there was no avoiding his side of the story so he sat back down where we was before and Ishimaru joined in the seat next to him, it was almost like they had never moved.

They spent another hour in that class room before they were told to leave by one of the teachers.

On that day the pair had formed a close bond, not the same as what Mondo and Ishimaru shared something deeper- a sort of unspoken reliability on each other.

They'd been through the same sort of hardships in life and understood one and other perfectly.

Neither of them wished to tell the police about their problems at home, they both fully believed they could deal with it- they had this long, what are a few more years until they can move out? They were strong people after all.

But at least they had someone to talk to about it now, someone who they could trust.

**((This is most definitely not how abuse should be dealt with by the way. This is a work of fiction. If you are in trouble at home, please, tell someone.))**


	5. Nostalgia

_Day 5: Nostalgia_

_Summary: We've heard a lot about Souda's father, but what about his mother?_

_Rating: K+_

_Word Count: 1,528_

_I have this head cannon that whenever Souda is really scared he braids and un-braids his hair to calm his nerves3_

_I've done a lot of sad Souda stuff; I must start doing happy things! _

_Also, I'm half way through this challenge! Wooooooooooooooo!_

"When did you start braiding your hair?"

It was just a simple question, small talk made my Souda's closest and dearest friend Hinata, but that one question had let go a wave of memories inside the pink haired boy.

The braid related to one of his only lasting memories of his mother, the last time he had seen her before she walked out all those years ago.

A relatively peaceful night, the only sound that could be heard was the faint buzz of the street lights.

Inside the Souda household it was tense, because sadly, the peace that surrounded them was only a temporary thing.

Souda's mother sat on the sofa, holding her son close to her chest as she swayed him gently from side to side- trying to keep the naturally nervous child calm. But it's hard to calm someone else down if you yourself are panicking.

Little Kazuichi gripped tightly on to his mother, he wanted to offer her as much support as he could, even though he was only a child.

The mother and son who were cuddled closely together on the sofa both knew he was coming home soon.

He who would shout venomous words until his vocal cords gave out.

He who would destroy all around him.

He who would beat anyone who stood in his way.

Souda's father, the not-so-loving husband to his mother, a lost cause.

They waited for him every night, in the hope that maybe he had finally changed and become the wonderful man he used to be. So far he was yet to happen, but they kept the hope- they relied on that hope.

The pair jumped when they heard the rustle of keys outside.

They darted off the sofa and into the hallway where they stood their ground, eyed fixed on the door as it crept open.

Little Souda shut his eyes tightly and gripped his mother's hand. All he wanted was for them to be a happy family again, he wanted his father too teach him more mechanics and his mother to show him how to cook and for everyone to smile. That wasn't too much to ask was it?

Souda and his mother's hopes were once again crushed on this night, the moment they heard a slurred "What are you looking at?" from the door way.

Souda's mother sighed and stayed silent after that, she slowly opened the cupboard under the stairs, keeping her movements slow and steady so her husband in his drunken state didn't realise what she was doing.

She gently pushed Souda in to the cupboard and quickly got in after him shutting the door. She then took a key out of her pocket in a rush and locked the door from the inside.

The drunken man had noticed what is wife was doing once she had shooed Souda in to the cupboard and he had stumbled down the corridor trying to stop them.

Luckily Souda's mother had managed to lock the door just in time before he could get to them- they were safe in here.

Every night was the same.

Souda's father would yell obscenities at them as loud as he could, he would punch and kick the door till his fingers bled, but he never got to them.

Although both Souda and his mother knew they were safe, it was still a heavily scary and traumatising experience- it never ceased to shoot fear in to their hearts and send an icy chill through their bodies.

It was very cramped in the cupboard so they hugged closely to each other.

Souda shook in his mother's embrace. His father was far more drunk than usual tonight and he was far more terrified than he had ever been before.

His mother noticed this and looked at the cupboard door that kept the beast away, she frowned and kissed Souda's forehead then pulled him back from their hug.

"Mum?" he flinched with a small scream as the door was kicked, his eyes filled with tears as he looked at her "What are you doing? Why can't we hug?" he asked in a slight panic as he reached his arms up for her to pick him up once more.

His mother put on the best false smile she could "I'm going to teach you a fun little trick." she booped his nose "But I need you to focus on me, not the nasty man outside."

Souda nodded but he did so hesitantly, the violence occurring outside was really distracting.

"Good" she smiled more sincerely this time as she brushed part of her hair over her shoulder and sectioned off a small part of it "You do this too Kazuichi."

"Kay," he complied and took a small bit of his hair. Souda's hair was longer than it used to be, his family couldn't afford haircuts anymore.

"Now split it in to three," as she did so she sung light lightly in a little random tune "1~ 2~ 3~"

Souda copied exactly what she had done; he even sung her little song back to her.

"And now we plat it, look closely Kazuichi" she lent forward and showed him her hair as she placed one piece over the other, forming a delicate braid.

Souda, being the fast learner that he was, quickly picked up how to braid and finished his braid at the same time as his mother "Look mum!" the little boy bubbled excitedly- rather proud of his work.

"Well done!" she grinned "You're so clever!" she ruffled his hair kindly.

It was then they noticed the rowdy noises outside had stopped.

Souda looked at his mother "D'ya think he's done?"

She nodded at him and unlocked the door, pushing it open with caution. The hallway looked just as she had expected it too- wrecked with a passed out good for nothing drunkard on the floor.

"Souda, go up to bed now and try and get some sleep, I'm going to tidy up here okay?"

"Okay mum," he yawned and rubbed his eyes tiredly, he wanted to help her but he was far too sleepy. He toddled over to her and she lent down and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

"Now Souda, I want you to remember how to braid and if you ever get scared just focus on braiding your hair until the scary thing has passed." he eyes looked very serious, as if she was passing over lifesaving information to her young son.

"I won't forget I promise" he smiled softly "And I won't get scared again! I'm tough!" he balled his hands in to little fists and puffed out his chest.

His mother laughed sweetly "You just get yourself to bed young man, I'll see you soon."

With that, little Souda had padded his way up the stairs and to bed.

He slept soundly despite the nights happenings.

"Whoa! Souda are you okay there?" Hinata asked moving towards his friend "I didn't know that would make you cry!"

The mechanic blinked and looked surprised, when had he started crying? "Shit- sorry dude, I don't know what came over me." he laughed awkwardly as he wiped away his tears.

"I just asked about your braid, bad memories?" Hinata asked, he didn't like to see his soul friend upset.

"Nah- It was a sort of good memory actually, about my mum before she- y'know left." he held his braid in his hand lightly, the feel of it sending more nostalgia through him. "She taught me how to do this, I've just done it every day since she left, it's a habit now I guess" he twiddled he braid softly between his thumb and finger.

"Oh hey that's pretty cool; you're really good at it too!" Hinata smiled and took a sip of his Cola, this whole time they had been in the cafeteria getting lunch together.

"Practise makes perfect" he grinned, showing off his sharp shark-like teeth "Maybe I should braid your hair someday! Then we can match"

"How about no." Hinata rolled his eyes and took another sip of his drink; he then looked down at the can with a small smirk, "Souda look! Its soda." he laughed and pointed to the can.

"Oh come on like I haven't heard that one before!" the pink haired boy said, getting worked up.

The subject of the braid was dropped and never really spoken about again, but the memories it brought up when Souda thought about it stuck with him.

Why was it that night that his mother had decided to leave him behind?

Everything had seemed normal between them; in fact she seemed to love him very much! So why leave him for years of torment by the hand of his father?

Souda decided it was best just to forget about it, and let good memories of his mother live on in the braid he made daily.


	6. Benevolence

_Day6_

_Day 6: Benevolence!_

_Summary: Souda finds something unexpected on his journey home, and there is only one person he can think to go to about it._

_Rating: K+_

_Word Count: 1,955_

_(Soudam is my OTP. this could have been really gay but I stopped myself XD)_

Souda was on his way back from a mechanic job he'd been called out to do, just a simple engine job on a car nothing too difficult.

His idea of become a free-lance mechanic was a stroke of genius in his opinion. He'd made enough money to get his own flat away from his father, and people where hearing about how good he was and hiring him like crazy!

It was quite late when he was walking back from this particular job, it had taken slightly longer to fix than he had anticipated- mostly because the lady who wanted her car fixed kept offering him cans of Pepsi, how could he say no?

Souda wasn't the biggest fan of the dark so he was in a bit of a hurry to get home.

But he stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a strangled screaming noise coming from down an alleyway.

It didn't sound human, but it certainly did sound frightened, and the pink haired mechanic couldn't just leave whatever it was in a state of fear- he knew all too well what it was like to be afraid.

He tugged his beanie down a little bit further and took a deep breath; he went down the alley and turned the corner.

The scene his eyes had been met with wasn't quite what he was expecting.

A gang of about six cats cornering one thin and week looking cat (in fact it looked so small it could have been a kitten).

Souda gulped, he knew how violent cats could be sometimes.

Backing round the corner slightly Souda took his shoe off, "Man, I hope my aim is good..." he whispered under his breath before lobbing his shoe at the gang of cats.

Souda thanked his lucky stars that his plan had worked and the cats had dispersed.

He hopped over to go and collect his shoe which had saved the day, when he noticed the small cat that had been cornered was still there, shivering slightly.

Souda popped his shoe back on then knelt down to the cat.

"Hey there little Guy." he stated softly- slowly reaching out a hand to the cat.

_"This is what you're supposed to do right?"_ he thought to himself "_let the cat get your scent or somethin'..."_

The cat looked at Souda's hand then to Souda.

It hesitantly moved forward and sniffed his hand.

Souda moved his hand up gently and petted the cats head as lightly as he could, the cat was so small he was worried he could hurt it "wonder why those mean cats were after you..." Souda said to himself. The cat gave a quiet meow in a reply of sorts and began to purr, enjoying the mechanics touch.

"Oh man, you're cute aren't ya?" Souda smiled, glad the cat liked him. But what was he supposed to do now? He couldn't just leave it here; the gang of cats would surly come back with a vengeance.

He sighed when he realised the only thing he could do was take the cat home with him.

Moving carefully, Souda lifted the cat up and in to his arms- the cat made no movement to reject to this, it actually purred more against Souda's body heat.

Souda didn't live too far from the alleyway, so by walking quickly he made it home in about 2 minutes.

Whist he made his way up the stars to his flat he looked down at the cat cradled in his arms. He could see it a lot better now, before the only light he had was a dim street light or two, but in the lighting on the stairs it was much clearer how in need of care this poor cat was.

It was thin (that much was obvious from the start) It had a few scratches on its body which had not been treated correctly and lastly it's fur was very discoloured, perhaps this was because of the malnourishment it had gone through?

"Life ain't been easy on ya, has it?" Souda said quietly as he got the keys for his front door out of one of his overalls pockets.

When they had entered the flat, Souda had put the cat down on the corner of his sofa and he'd run off to the kitchen to find some food for it.

He rummaged through his cupboards which were mainly filled with instant noodles and random tins; eventually he found a tin of tuna. "Fish! Cats like fish." Souda exclaimed as he opened the tin and drained the water out.

The cat had dug strait in to the tuna as if it had not eaten for days, although Souda wouldn't have been surprised if that _was_ the case.

"Slow down a little!" he joked happily as he watched the cat go. "I suppose I need ta name ya... Wait are ya a boy or a girl?" he didn't expect the cat to reply but he didn't particularly want to check either.

It was a girl he concluded after quickly looking under the cat once it had finished eating.

"What the hell do I name a girl- Sonia?" he grinned. The cat had no reaction. "Alright alright... how about..." he looked around the room for inspiration.

His eyes fell on some designs on his desk, he was pretty good at art and Aoi had asked him to make her a box with a doughnut pattern on to hold her doughnuts in. So there was an A4 sheet of paper on his desk covered in little doodles of all kinds of doughnuts.

"I've got it!" he said triumphantly "Your name will be sprinkles! That's a cute girly name for a cat, its perfect!"

The cat meowed and rubbed its body up against Souda, the mechanic guessed that meant sprinkles liked her name.

The room was silent for a while apart from sprinkles purring as Souda petted her head when suddenly the mechanics stomach rumbled angrily "I guess I forgot to eat again" he laughed "A man can't live off Pepsi sadly."

This was wired; he was talking to himself wasn't he? Cats don't speak English, and yet he found himself chatting away to a cat as he made himself some instant noodles.

Sprinkles fell asleep on the sofa next to Souda whist the pink haired man ate his dinner.

He looked at the sleeping cat with a frown, he needed to take her to the vet but there is no way he could afford it.

Then a little light bulb switched on in his head, which he quickly stamped out.

No.

He was not going to ask that stupid animal breeder for help.

His gaze was drawn back to sprinkles "But she really needs help..." he said, voice laced with annoyance.

The mechanic cursed quite violently out loud as he picked up his phone and dialled the number of Tanaka Gundam.

It rang a few times before Souda heard the booming voice he despised on the other end.

"Yes? Why do you call me at such an hour pink haired one?"

"Look Hamster. I found a stray cat on my way home today and she needs a vet or some shit-"

"I will be right over." Gundam cut Souda off in a very serious tone "I pray that you have taken proper care of the creature thus far. Now, where do you take residence?"

"Huh? Where do I take what?"

He heard Gundam mumble something along the lines of 'foolish mortal' before saying "Where do you live?"

About 5 minutes later Gundam arrived at Souda's apartment, dressed in his usual strange attire and carrying a case with him.

Upon entry Gundam had commanded to know the whereabouts of the cat, and as soon as he knew the animal breeder had rushed off.

The animal breeder woke sprinkles up gently then began to inspect her wounds.

Souda watched closely the whole time, he was pretty impressed with the way the taller man worked- it was almost graceful the way he cared for the little cat.

Neither Souda nor Gundam had spoken a word to each other for at least 10 minute; but there was no tension in the air between them for once. It was almost like they were friends! But that would never happen.

After a while Gundam spoke up "How did you come across this creature?"

"I was on my way home from a job an' I heard herd this crazy loud screeching down an alleyway so I went ta investigate, she was cornered by a buncha mean cats so I threw my shoe at 'em and they ran off... but I couldn't just leave her there! So, here she is." Souda gestured to the cat with a small smile.

Gundam nodded, seeming to approve of his story "Have you chosen a name for her yet?"

"Sprinkles" Souda coughed to hide his embarrassment; it sounded like a stupid name didn't it?

The animal breeder nodded again "A fine name for a creature such as herself." he finished wrapping the last bandage around one of sprinkle's legs. "Do you have any more sustenance for her?" he asked pointing to the empty tin of tuna.

Souda scratched the back of his head in thought "I'm not sure... I might have some more tuna somewhere."

"You are not prepared for the arrival of such a creature at all." Gundam said as he took a few packs of cat food out of his case and left them on the side for Souda "I trust I can leave the rest to you?" he said as his got up from the floor "I must return to my own animals before the miss my presence."

"Yeah I got her." Souda smiled warmly towards sprinkles who had fallen back to sleep the moment Gundam had stopped working, she must have been really tired.

"She likes you very much pinked haired one. Rescuing her was a most noble thing to do and I not only commend you for it I also applaud you – I am most impressed." Gundam had said the last bit quietly and hid his face behind his scarf.

"Uh- thanks..." Souda started, a very discrete blush forming on his cheeks "and uh- y'know, thanks for helpin' her out... how much do I need to pay you for all this?"

"I require no payment, other than the promise that you will take proper care of her."

"I will, don't worry about that!" the mechanic grinned. He never had a pet before, but had always sort of wanted one, so this was great for him.

"Good. I shall take my leave then" Gundam walked to the door and Souda followed him.

They had said their goodbyes and then the animal breeder left; Souda had shut the door and walked back over to sprinkles.

"Maybe Gundam isn't such a bad guy after all..." Souda said to himself, thinking back to how they had actually gotten along for once.

As it turns out, that night had been the start of Souda and Gundam's close friend ship. They visited each other's houses a lot more often and got along extremely well, (as long as no one mentioned Sonia).

With Souda making cages and toys for Gundam's pets and Gundam taking care of said pets; the mechanic and the animal breeder were a surprisingly good team.

Also, Together, they had gotten sprinkles back to full health.

Who would have guessed a little cat could have stated such a close bond.

6


	7. Panic

_Day 7: Panic!_

_Summary: Mondo brings his bike in for Souda to fix! What could possibly go wrong?_

_Rating: T+ (Because swearing)_

_Word Count: 1,294_

_((I'm not that happy with this one… I think my writing is getting worse with each fic. Uhggg))_

It had been a really quiet day at the shop so far, luckily for Souda seeing as it was only him working there today.

Once again his father had gone out drinking the night before, this wasn't usually a problem but last night the older man had gotten completely smashed, and he was unable to work the next day.

Souda was also not in the best shape (for reasons he'd rather not talk about) but it was down to him to run the shop- they couldn't afford to close for the day, money was in short supply at the Souda household, especially with Souda's father drinking the little they made away every night.

The young mechanic sighed and drummed his fingers on the counter; all he'd done today was inflate a tire on a kid's bike.

"What a way to spend your Saturday…" he mumbled, and then remembered he had nothing better to do anyway.

Leon was playing some big game today, Hinata had plans with Komaeda and he never really knew what Hagakure was doing.

He sighed loudly and leaned on the desk, it was just so boring!

Another hour or so passed before something finally happened.

He heard a rumbling noise in the distance, that grew louder and closer with every passing second. When Souda thought the engine noises couldn't get any louder a motor bike pulled up outside- it was quite obviously the source of all the commotion.

A man jumped off the bike. There were a few outstanding features about this man: his hair was brushed over his face in a pompadour, he wore a big black coat with gold writing all down the back, but most of all- he looked angry as hell.

Souda was a man who tried to look tough, but that was merely a façade put on by his choice of fashion. In reality, Souda was a man who got intimidated easily, a man who let people step all over him.

The mechanic shrunk back behind the counter slightly when he noticed that not only was the grumpy looking man coming in to his shop, he also went to Souda's school!

Mondo Oowada, the most feared guy in school. A gang leader who could pick a fight with anyone and probably win!

"Oh man, this is not my day..." Souda wined mentally, stiffening up as Mondo stomped in. "H-hello, how I can help you today?" he stuttered nervously

"I need my bike fixed." Mondo grunted pointing behind him with his thumb at the bike that sat outside "You had better know what you're doing."

"U-uh what seems to be the problem with it?" Souda asked- _man this guy was scary as hell._

"I'm not that sure what's wrong with it. But I was in a crazy wreck last night an' now it's making this rattling nose when I ride, and one of the exhaust pipes is bent outta shape. Also it's packed full of dents and shit."

"Okay..." Souda nodded "I will get right on that, I-if you just leave your bike here with me."

"Yeah sure- just don't fuck it up anymore, that bike is pretty much all I got." the last part of Mondo's sentence sounded soft and sincere; in fact it almost sounded sad.

This bike must be really important to him..." Souda thought, becoming more worried about doing this project.

He had to get it right.

"Oh and I need fixed by tonight." Mondo added nonchalantly as if it were an easy task.

If Souda had been drinking something when he heard that last bit, he would have spat it out in shock! "T-tonight?" he managed to say, bike jobs normally took a day at least to finish!

"Yeah is that a problem?" the biker snapped.

"No!" Souda squeaked "No, not at all... come back at 7:00 I-I'll have it done I promise." Souda gulped, how the hell was he going to do this? He could only pray that the job would be easier than it sounded.

"Right, I'll be back then." Mondo said sharply then left the shop without another word.

The moment Mondo was out of sight Souda flopped down on to the four and pulled his beanie down over his eyes for a moment as he rocked back and forth trying too sooth his rising panic.

He looked at the clock on the wall... it was 4:35, that meant he had exactly 2 hours and 25minuets to finish this whole project. The mechanic laughed hysterically in disbelieve then said a quiet "Ah fuck..." as he got up off the floor and made his way outside to the bike.

There was no way he was going to do this but he could at least make a start on it before Mondo came back and kicked his ass- maybe the biker would half his misery if he got half the work done.

The job had not gone well to say the least.

Souda's hands shook the whole time he worked on the bike, and all he'd managed to do by 6:50 was sort out the crushed exhaust pipe and get a few dents out!

He was _sooooo_ dead.

Every time Souda looked at the clock his heartbeat increased significantly and he felt physically sick to his stomach.

6:55

Shit.

Souda didn't think his hands could move any faster, every move he did was clumsy and he was really not doing the best job on this precious motor bike.

Hell, he could even be making it worse right now, his hands were moving by themselves as his mind raced.

6:59

This was it.

He was going to die in a minuet.

Souda really hoped the gang leader would be late.

7:00

The shop doors swung open and Mondo Oowada trudged in.

Fuck.

"Ya finish my bike?" the biker asked, he seemed a lot calmer than before. Perhaps this was because he assumed his bike was done?

"N-Not-" Souda couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence, he practically choked on his own words.

Mondo looked at the squirming mess that was Kazuichi Souda, and his face suddenly looked quite guilty "Look man, shit, I don't need the bike tonight. Half my gang is in the damn hospital after that fucking wreck last night."

Souda was both relived and confused, "S-so does that mean this ain't gotta be done for a few days?" he asked cautiously, he really didn't want to piss the biker off.

"Nah," Mondo waved his hand to certify the point "Look I was in a really bad mood this morning, y'know cause of the wreck, so I'm sorry if I seemed like more of an ass the usual."

"Ah, uh- no you're good, I just scare easy" Souda laughed, more relaxed than before- this Mondo guy wasn't that bad.

"Well that ait good, ya gotta stick up for yourself sometimes or you'll get nowhere in life."

Truer words had never been spoken to Souda, that tiny pep talk meant a lot to him "Yeah you're right, uh- thanks, I'll have your bike done by Monday"

"Sounds good ta me!" the gang leader smiled, and then he was gone.

The mechanic now felt slightly better with himself- and he most certainly wasn't panicking anymore.

The change in Mondo's personality showed him that nobody was nasty all the time; it gave Souda a better outlook on life.

Souda had done such a god job with Mondo's bike that the gang leader always sent his gangs bikes there for repairs, which meant there was finally more money in the Souda house hold.

Things were looking up, slightly.


	8. Embarrassment

_Day 8: Embarrassment_

_Summery: Based of post/83133770041/teacher-au-souda-burning-himself-by-accident-while BECAUSE I NEED MORE OF THE SOUDAM TEACHERS3_

_Notes: this is the first fic in this little series set in an AU! It's also soudam. Because boy do I ship that3_

_Rating: T+_

_Word Count: 1,159_

If there was one thing Souda knew, it was that he hated the stupid science teacher who worked upstairs from him.

He hated his dark hair and deep (sexy) voice.

He hated how tall he was.

But most of all he hated how much he liked him.

Because that science teacher was Gundam Tanaka, and Gundam Tanaka never even bothered to look his way.

Then again why should Gundam even notice him? Souda was just a nerdy awkward design technology teacher with a serious addiction to Cola.

What is there to notice other than his outrageous pink hair?

They didn't even work in the same department! Hell, they'd never even spoken to each other! And yet thoughts of the mysterious science teacher constantly plagued Souda's mind.

The more he thought of Gundam the more annoyed he got, the more he hated him.

He was so in love.

To earn some extra money, Souda would sometimes fix broken things around the school once all the students had left- it was pretty easy for him, he is the best mechanic in the school after all.

On this day in particular he had been called to one of the upstairs science rooms to fix a bunch of heat pads, apparently the first years had decided to have a bit of fun with them and mess with the wires.

"Stupid kids…" Souda had grumbled as he went upstairs. He didn't have that much of a problem with them breaking things because it meant he got more money, but it was still annoying.

Once he reached the class room he was to work in butterflies filled his stomach and he felt very light headed all of a sudden.

It just had to be Gundam's class didn't it?

A strange combination of nausea and excitement filled the design technology teacher as he opened the door to the class room.

He didn't really know what he was so nervous; Gundam had probably already gone home.

That was not the case though.

Upon entry Souda was met with an angry glare from across the room.

"What brings you to the class of Gundam Tanaka pink haired one? Do you desire to learn of the biological sciences of the creatures that roam our fair earth?"

"The what?" Souda asked, "Speak in English next time." he rolled his eyes and wondered why was so attracted to the science teacher. "L-Look, I just need ta fix those hot plates the first years broke."

"Ah yes! The plates of heat which the foolish small mortals decided to break, I made sure they were dealt with correctly and received a weeks' worth of detentions!"

Souda nodded and got to work silently, although the way Gundam spoke was certainly different Souda personally found it endearing… Sometimes.

Time passed extremely slowly and the class room was silent for most of it- the only sounds were of Souda tinkering with the hot plates and Gundam marking test papers. The quiet really only succeeded in making Souda more nervous around the science teacher- he really did like him, but the latter just seemed so uninterested in him.

Eventually Souda got tired of worried whether Gundam liked him or not, he decided he had to suck it up for once and just ask the man out, or at least just try and talk to him!

"So, uh-" the pink haired man began, putting his tools to one side for a moment . He tried to reposition himself to make himself look cooler, but of course, being the clumsy man he was he managed to catch his hand on a heat pad he'd accidently left switched on.

The shock of the sudden intense heat surprised him so much he jumped out of his chair with a pained scream- which of course, also startled the science teacher.

"Ah! Shit shit shit" Souda cried as he clutched the burnt hand, he could feel his eyes tearing up _'dammit no! Don't cry you idiot!"_ he cursed loudly in his head, this was so embarrassing!

Through his pain (which probably wasn't that bad, but we all know Souda is a massive drama queen) the design technology teacher could have sworn he heard Gundam sigh then get up.

Next thing Souda knew he was being lead over to one of the science lab sinks.

The cold water had felt really good on the burn, but (as corny as it sounds) being close to the science teacher made the pain go away much more than any water could.

Souda had protested a lot while Gundam had attended to his wound, it was embarrassing.

"_Y-you didn't need to help, Jerk!"_

"_Shut up. A burn cannot be left un attended."_

But it certainly had its perks…

This little incident had broken the ice between the pair, and although they were squabbling childishly they were communicating.

Soon after Souda's burn had ceased to hurt the pair had also stopped arguing, and instead had started chatting like normal people (well as normal as a convocation could be between them- they were pretty extravagant people after all.)

"I will admit to a desire to converse with you prior to today's meeting pink haired one." Gundam said as he fiddled with the collar of his lab coat.

"R-really?" Souda stuttered, surprise quite clear in his voice "I thought you didn't even know I existed before today." he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

Gundam chuckled "That is not the case at all, I find you rather intriguing."

Souda had no idea what intriguing meant, but he assumed it was positive by the small smile that appeared on Gundam's face after he had said it.

"Thanks, I uh- find you intriguing too?" the last part of his sentence sounded so uncertain, he wasn't even that sure what he was saying.

"If that is the case, then perhaps we should familiarise our self's with each other over a hot drink of so form?"

Wait.

_What?_

Did THE Gundam Tanaka just ask him out?

"What? Now!?" Souda spat out quickly, he was exploding with excitement on the inside.

"I see no reason not to. You may finish your work with the plates of heat tomorrow, and my marking can be put back another day… that is if you wanted to?" the science teacher was quite obviously blushing- no matter how cool and mysterious he was, he could not hide his reddening cheeks.

"I'd love to! Just let me put my tools away and we can go!" Souda said, probably sounding a bit too eager, but he just couldn't be embarrassed any more- he was far too happy.

That date had been the first of many for the pair.


	9. Paranoia

_Day 9: Paranoia_

_Summary: Middle school Souda was ever so plain and ever so afraid of bullies._

_Rating: K+_

_Word Count: 1,383_

_I thought I should write at least one of these stories in first person, so yeah- Souda is talking to you! (Also I put Beta!Leon in this because I love that design!)_

I don't really have a problem with school; I have a problem with the people that go there.

School is fine, I learn things and the teachers ain't' so bad (apart from , that guy is messed up, I don't even know how he became a teacher!).

It's not even all the people that go there either! A lot of them are fine, they don't talk to me but they don't mess with me either y'know? I mean, sure company would be nice! But I can deal with bein' alone, I don't think I long for companionship.

No, it's just a few punk kids that make my school life a misery.

I don't feel safe anymore.

It's like, they could be anywhere and I wouldn't have any kind of power against them! The next thing I know they've smacked me round the head or yelled something at me about how useless and boring I am.

Useless.

I can take them saying that, because I know I'm not. All the work I do at dads shop proves that! I defiantly have my uses, so they can call me useless all they want and I won't care one bit.

Boring.

Now that one kind of hurts... But it annoys me more than anything. Everyone around me seems to think I'm plain and boring, that I blend in with the crowd. For example, if I was in an anime- I'd be the character you see in the background sometimes but you never hear them talk, or they end up dying early on and no one cares about them. I guess it annoys me because no one has given me a chance to prove I'm not boring.

I'm sure if someone noticed me they'd like me.

The bell had just gone to signify the end of a school day, so that meant I just had to get home safe then I would have gone one whole day without an encounter with _any_ bullies! It would have been the first in a while, so I was being extra cautious as I made my way through the school building.

But at almost every corner I turned there seemed to be someone intimidating standing there, like they were just waiting for some weakling like me to pass by!

Maybe I was just being paranoid, but I don't think you can ever be too careful.

After a while I finally thought I'd found a safe route to the schools exit, I was almost home free! I could practically smell the motor oil!

But no.

Some tall blond guy suddenly turned the corner holding a baseball bat.

In all honesty, he wasn't even looking my way- but I still tuned on my heal and ran, I really didn't want to take any chances especially if this guy had a baseball bat.

I stopped for breath down one of the schools corridors; I really wasn't built for running.

That's when I heard it.

Footsteps moving quickly, running in fact, in my direction.

I swear my heart stopped for a moment and my blood ran cold.

It just wasn't fair okay? I'd gone out of my way to avoid any kind of contact with anyone who looked remotely like they wanted to beat me up, and now one was chasing after me!

I pulled my beanie down low over my head with one hand and fiddled with my braid using the other. I was just trying to calm myself down as tears threatened to spill down my face. I knew there was no running from whoever was on their way, so I just had to face whatever they had in store for me.

I head them stop running as they reached the corridor I stood in, and they began to walk towards me. They didn't even sound out of breath so this guy must have been an athlete or something.

I know it sounds lame, but I whimpered with every step they took closer to me, I just really wanted to go one day without anyone hating me...

The stranger taped me on the shoulder, and I froze up.

"Yo? Dude you okay there?"

Wait, so he wasn't going to hit me?

"Look I thought I heard someone running away. I was sort of hoping it would be some _smoking hot_ chick in need of a hero to sweep her off her feet... but whatever."

I looked out from under my hat and rubbed my eyes the moment I realised I was in no real danger.

It was that blond boy with the baseball bat from before (I kinda guessed it would be him, I'm not the quietest runner in the world).

"Look are ya gonna tell me what wrong or not?" he said, folding his arms.

"N-no thing, I was just being paranoid I guess..." I managed to say although I did sound very shaky.

"Oh okay- shit was it because of me? Sorry man, I didn't mean ta scare ya" the blond boy laughed, trying to lighten the mood a little.

This was certainly a first for me, not only had someone apologised to me, but they were also talking to me out of their own free will. This was all new, but I really liked it.

"Don't worry about it" I said with a little smile.

"But uh..." the blond began "Why'd ya think I was gonna beat you up? I don't even know you."

"I get picked on a lot round here, I just don't really trust anyone _not_ to beat me up." for some reason I found that extremely hard to say, someone actually wanting to know my problems was so… different.

The blond looked a bit surprised "Really? That's not right man. I'm sorry to hear that, it must really suck." he put his hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah." I agreed slowly, still getting used to the convocation.

"Oh hey! I have an idea." the blond exclaimed quite happily "The first step to not getting picked on, is looking tough! So I think you need to go home today and completely change your appearance!"

I stared blankly back at him, not quite sure what he was going on about.

"Look, no offence but let's face it dude, you look kinda weak and plain." he slung an arm around my shoulders after he said that "-and just a little secret between us: I used to be like you too- people used to call me a weenie all the time." he whispered, although there was no one else around to hear it.

I found the idea of this blond stranger looking as plain as me hard to believe, he just looked so cool!

"But-" he continued "I just changed my appearance! Made myself look cooler so people believed I was cooler y'know?" he grinned and unhooked his arm from around me.

I nodded "I get what you mean!" this was really exciting; he could have just solved all of my school problems.

"I think red would suit ya." the blond said as he looked me up and down "See what ya can do with red- I'll look out for you around school tomorrow." he grinned again then looked at his watch "Aw man, I gotta go now or I'll miss my bus." he waved then dashed off back the way he came.

The blond stranger was gone before I knew it and I didn't even get to know his name.

But that didn't matter right now.

Right now, I needed to change my appearance.

Look cooler so people will think you are cool.

Shouldn't be too hard, why hadn't I thought of it before?

Okay, so my new look hadn't gone exactly as I planned, (the red hair dye turned out to be pink) but I was still pretty happy with it.

Pink is a cool colour, well; at least I think it is.

I wonder what the school will think of me now...


	10. Satisfaction

_Day 10: Satisfaction!_

_Summary: If you asked him, he'd probably tell you he was happy. A little look in to Souda's life these days._

_Rating: K+_

_Word Count: 1,477_

_(This is it! The big finish! It's been fun to write, thank you to everyone who has read (or will read) it! I hope I have spread the Souda love~ For this final chapter, I hope to combine features from most of my past stories in this little series ^-^ let's get going then! :D )_

Sunshine crept in to Souda's apartment through a gap in the curtains. He grunted sleepily when the light touched his face, awakening him from his peaceful slumber.

He sat up groggily and stretched out his arms, yawning widely as he did so.

"Jeeze... I should not have stayed up till 2 fixin' that TV..." he mumbled to himself as he got out of bed.

The moment his feet touched the floor his cat Sprinkles was rubbing her around his ankles happily. He bent down and petted her head gently; she was only slightly bigger than she was when he had first rescued her.

"Look I can't stay here and pet ya forever," Souda smiled at the cat "I've got school or whatever." he scratched behind her ear then trailed his hand down the rest of her back and to the tip of her tail, before standing up to brush his sharp teeth.

As brushed his teeth he walked around his apartment, getting his uniform together and taking something out of the fringe for breakfast. He had his usual of left over take out from the night before; one day he would start eating healthily- that day was not today of course.

The mechanic finished brushing his teeth then ate as he put his uniform on, bushed his bright pink hair and finished off his signature look with his favourite black beanie.

He said goodbye to Sprinkles then left for school (Sprinkles was definitely a house cat, due to her past experiences, she had no interest in going outside).

Every morning is the same; the only time it's really different is when the mechanic gets caught up on a project and forgets to sleep.

It's a nice easy way to start your day, and he wouldn't really change it if he could.

* * *

Upon arrival to school Souda is normally happily greeted by his soul friend Hinata or on some occasions Leon.

If he met with Hinata the convocation would be rather laid back, they'd just discuss what they had done the day before or what Hinata is doing on the weekend, there want much of a point asking Souda what he was doing as it was probably just going to be mechanic things.

On the other hand if he met with Leon the convocation would be a lot more fired up, they would excitedly chat about music or cars or sports! They liked pretty much the same things and always got so wound up when they got to talk about that stuff.

Despite all that, mornings before the first lessons started were probably the most relaxed part of the school day. Everyone was still half asleep (apart from Ibuki who always seems to have energy) so people would just chat idly with one and other and even make plans for after school.

Souda could never really make after school plans because he had to work, which didn't really bother him- sure he'd love to hang out with friends but the mechanic was also quite content with tinkering about with machines to make money.

The bell to signify the start of the day's lessons would go, and then Souda would spend the rest of his time in class not listening and hoping not to get picked on by the teacher. It's not like he needed to know any of the stuff the teacher was saying, he already had a booming freelance mechanic business- couldn't he just do that for the rest of his life?

To Souda, the day's lessons would always pass surprisingly fast. one moment he'd be doodling new designs for some invention he was working on then the next thing he'd know everyone would be getting up for lunch.

Lunches he spent with Sonia and Gundam, he was pretty sure they were now dating, and in all honesty he didn't care- in fact he was happy for them! After he confessed to Sonia and she explained to him his real motives for loving her, he realised how stupid he had been and no longer felt the same about her.

Souda and Sonia were now good friends, although he would still sometimes objectify her (old habits die hard) but they would just laugh it off now. She knew he didn't mean anything by it.

Gundam and Souda had become surprisingly close; Souda was probably Gundam's best friend! They had gone from pretty much hating each other to acting like an old married couple all thanks to a little cat! It was a very unlikely friendship, but they just seemed to bounce off one and other- their personalities clashed and yet mixed perfectly at the same time.

The trio would sit around one of the lunch tables and talk about anything that came to mind. It wasn't exactly the most exciting event of the day but Souda enjoyed every moment of it nonetheless.

Lunch would be over after an hour or so and everyone would return to their lessons quite quickly.

Once again the mechanic wouldn't really listen to the teacher, there really was no point.

By now the mechanic had probably gotten a detention for not listening, but that didn't phase him at all, it just meant he got to go and see Ishimaru and check he was still doing okay.

The hall monitor would always greet him with a big broad smile then quickly scold him for getting another detention (although he was quite obviously pleased to see him).

By the looks of the hall monitor, he seemed to be doing just fine.

But sometimes Souda would notice a little cut or a bruise somewhere on his face and worry. Ishimaru would quickly reassure him that there was no problem, but the mechanic wouldn't always believe him 100%.

At least Mondo knew about Ishimaru's problems at home, and was now keeping a close eye on the hall monitor for any signs of distress.

Leon would still be in detention with Souda every day and lately Hagakure had been getting in trouble more often than not.

Once detention was over Souda would say good bye to Ishimaru as Mondo came to pick the hall monitor up. Then it would just be himself, Leon and Hagakure left to make their way home.

They all lived in the same direction luckily so they could all walk home together.

A mechanic

A baseball star

A fortune teller

It doesn't exactly sound like the best combination does it? But they certainly make it work, a trio of bros just out to have a good time. They could make each other laugh so easily, that sometimes they would keel over with laughter on their walk home!

Those walks Souda spent with Leon and Hagakure were by far some of his best memories.

* * *

When Souda got home, he was quickly greeted by Sprinkles (who had missed her owner throughout the day).

He picked her up and cuddled the cat close to his chest as he kicked off his school shoes. The mechanic dragged his feet along the floor then flopped down on the sofa, his day's weren't exactly busy or stressful but he liked to chill out on the sofa and just pet his cat for a while before he looked at his list of jobs.

The mechanic always had work to do, it came in a steady supply- he was never over or under worked just how he liked it.

Being stressed out just isn't worth it.

It was always the same kinds of jobs to do as well, fix a few cars or TVs, maybe build a custom radio for someone. Occasionally Mondo would call him out to do a maintenance check on all his gangs bikes.

He really loved his job, being a mechanic and fixing things just made him feel so proud and satisfied with him.

He was helping people and they were grateful.

He was needed, he was useful and that gave him a kind of fulfilment nothing else could.

A nice supply of business and a steady flow of money.

His own flat away from his father.

Fantastic friends and a very loving cat.

If you asked Souda what he thought of his life right now, he'd probably tell you he was happy.

Absolutely no need to change a single thing.

* * *

**-THE END-**

**Please tell me what you thought of it!**

**I worked so hard on this whole set of stories! I hope you liked it!**

**Thank you so so sooooo much for sticking with it till the end!**


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